Wheatley - vireos

Still lots of songbirds on the move this week despite the wet weather. Half a dozen warbler species and loads of vireos and thrushes too. Here is one of several responsive Red-eyed Vireos.

And here is a second pose - again this bird was responding to calling techniques, not playback.

The last image is of one of my favorite birds - the Blue-headed Vireo!

PELEE FALL SONGBIRDS

On September 8th I spent a really enjoyable day at Pelee with Karen and Dan Olech. The day started out pretty wet but within twenty minutes it ceased and there were birds everywhere we looked. The bright overcast conditions made for some decent photography. Although the songbirds were in fall plumage it was still great fun. Here are a few of my best images from the day.

First a BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER



Then a female/juv BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER




and a co-operative BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER...



another great close NORTHERN PARULA...




and to finish up warblers, one of the most abundant - a MAGNOLIA WARBLER...




Lastly, one of an amazing forty plus PHILADELPHIA VIREOS that we tallied!

MAR 17 - PELEE AREA

Spent a few hours cruising the wet fields north of Pelee and then a brief run down to the tip area. There are lots of changes in Pelee this spring - newly paved tip road, new visitor center paved parking lot (definitely designed by an engineer!), new boardwalk going in at the marsh, and apparently a new tip transit service for this spring! Also some work being done on Sparrow Field. Hoping that involves actively managing this site for grassland species and viewing opportunities - still hopeful!

There was a good selection of waterfowl along Conc D and a nice smattering of raptors - two Rough-legs, three harriers and about a dozen Red-tails - also a Great Horned Owl on nest. The most photogenic subject was a RACCOON which was teed up in a small sapling along the North Dyke road (which continues to deteriorate). He/she sat there obligingly for this image.


Opossums in northern climes often have frost damage to their ear tips. This Raccoon clearly has a piece missing from one ear (see upper left of the image below). I am not sure whether Raccoons suffer this same issue as their ears are more fur covered. It may be more likely this was the result of a fight.

PELEE - MAY 13th

This morning I did chores and then headed down to the park in early afternoon to take a quick look for a reported Western Grebe. No luck with that but while scanning at Northwest Beach I was surprised to spot an adult light phase PARASITIC JAEGER!

I continued down to the visitor center and there I heard that the photo opps in Tildens were good. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon there.

One of the lowest and easiest birds to see was this TENNESSEE WARBLER. This is a bird that is quite hard to photograph as it normally stays way up in the canopy.




At first I had trouble with trying to get the right set up for photographing in these overcast conditions. Fortunately I ran into professional photographer and good friend Chris Dodds. He set me straight on the best setting and compensation and right away my results improved. This was a good thing because there were lots of great birds like this ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK to capture. Thanks Chris!





There were at least fifteen warbler species in Tilden's but I only managed to get decent images of about four species, including this BLACK-THROATED GREEN (a female).

PELEE - MAY 12th

After yesterdays complete wash out, I headed down to the park with another full group of visitors. It turned out to be the best day of the spring migration by far. We tallied 25 species of warblers, all 6 regular vireos, both cuckoos, a perched LEAST BITTERN, and many other great birds. The number of BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS was particularly impressive. I estimated that we spotted between 150 and 250 of these gorgeous songbirds. We also had huge numbers of NASHVILLE and BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS as well.

PELEE - MAY 9th

After yesterday's horrendous conditions Kathi and I got an early start and enjoyed a good breakfast at Paula's Fish Place just north of the park gate. As we were leaving Paula pointed out a group of swallows sunning on the sheltered side of the restaurant. There were at least fifty lethargic individuals trying to get warm.




CLIFF SWALLOW is a scarce breeder in Essex County. However there were at least fifteen perched on the eavestrough of the restaurant this morning including this co-operative individual.

PELEE - MAY 6TH

I had Thursday May 6th 'off' so I spent the morning photographing. It was a bit challenging with all the big guns running around and many whose behavior bordered on down right ignorant. I wont be politically incorrect, but suffice it to say they come from one particular region of Canada! I waited patiently for this WHITE-EYED VIREO to show and should have nailed it. However two different groups attacked the bird from off trail and it spooked.




I spent a fair bit of time taking pics of people this morning because there were relatively few songbirds. However, the large group of COMMON TERNS on the tip put on a great show and took flight and wheeled overhead several times.




It was fun watching the TERNS and some of them were even courting. This individual is carrying a small fish (likely a smelt) - a common behavior during courtship.

PELEE - May 4th

I spent the morning taking photos around Point Pelee. The weather was good for photography but unlike the last two days, there were very few migrants. I decided to focus on other subjects and there was no shortage of those! The early morning was spent photographing MayApple and other plants, most of which had a nice coating of dew or water droplets.



The birds were not flying but with the sunny mild conditions, it was a good day for butterfly activity. Among the species seen were my first MONARCH of the year. This AMERICAN PAINTED LADY was one of several dozen seen. Most were feeding on flowering GARLIC MUSTARD.



When the opportunities popped up, I did manage to get some images common breeders. Although the background is a bit busy, I liked this image of a co-operative male AMERICAN ROBIN.

PELEE - May 3rd

It was another GREAT day at Pelee with numbers still low but diversity and quality both superb. After overnight rain, it cleared and we were treated to a gorgeous sunny and warm day. We started at the Tip with the highlight certainly being no fewer than a dozen RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS! It was like the good old days when this bird was seen frequently at the tip. At one point we had SIX RED-HEADED and SIX RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS in the same tree!! Other tip highlights included perfect close low views of WHITE-EYED VIREO and a text book study of CLAY-COLORED SPARROW feeding in the open with two FIELD SPARROWS.

Our next stop was the Woodland Nature Trail. The northeast corner produced again today with top honours going to a close male HOODED WARBLER, a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH (distant but clear views), two or three BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS (including one with yellow wing bars), and a really co-operative OVENBIRD. The big warbler highlight of the day was a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER found by my good friend Bruce DiLabio near the park entrance. We had several decent views of the rare southerner. Rounding out good warblers were the same male PRAIRIE WARBLER at our picnic lunch stop at the Dunes (along with a wide open YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO).

PELEE - MAY 2nd

Today was the first day of my Pelee bird hikes and we had a GREAT day. There weren't huge numbers of birds but we had really great views and good diversity and quality. Among the 15 warbler species we observed were a male WORM-EATING WARBLER (stunning close views, we finally walked away from the bird!), a male HOODED WARBLER (scope views of a preening male!), PRAIRIE WARBLER (a great view of a close male at fifteen feet), BLUE-WINGED WARBLER (at least 8 singing males studied at length), NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH (incredible leisurely studies of at least six different individuals), a low close male CAPE MAY WARBLER, and a single male BAY-BREASTED WARBLER. Incredibly, we had only ONE Yellow-rumped Warbler all day. I am sure this is certainly the first time in 39 years of birding at the park that I have seen 8x more Blue-winged Warblers than Yellow-rumped Warblers in a day!!! Tomorrow the forecast looks good for more great birding. Can't wait.

PELEE SPRING BIRD HIKES

Spring is definitely in the air this week with local temps 'soaring' to the high 40s (Farenheit!). This should bring loads of waterfowl, blackbirds and gulls, and the first sparrows and smattering of later migrants like Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow and the first shorebirds. Its a reminder that May is not far off.

For those folks coming to Pelee this May I wanted to let you know that I am now working in partnership with the Comfort Inn, Leamington (www.choicehotels.com) to offer birding hikes and accommodations. The hikes are offered on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from May 2 - 21, 2010. Maximum group size is six participants and special discounts on accommodations and hike fees are available for guests of the Comfort Inn, Leamington. All the details are available on line at www.netcore.ca/~peleetom/webdoc14.htm I welcome you to check out this link and join me on a hike this spring!

The number one focus of these hikes will be getting repeated good looks at spring songbirds, with a particular emphasis on warblers. Over the years 42 species of warblers have been recorded at Pelee, with 36 being annual in the park. On a three or four day visit, you could reasonably expect to see between 20 and 30 species of warblers in the park. Every visit is different due to the dynamic nature of migration.


This Magnolia Warbler is one of the most commonly encountered species in mid month, but early on it can be hard to find. However, early in the month Yellow-rumped, Nashville, Palm and Pine Warblers are much easier to find. They often get tough later in May.


This snappy male Cape May Warbler is one of three species often referred to as 'spruce bud worm warblers'. This is because their abundance and breeding success is often linked to cycles in the spruce bud worm population in their boreal forest breeding grounds. The other two species in this group are the Bay-breasted and Tennessee Warblers. In some years, these species can be everywhere in the park, while at other times they can be darn tough.



Many warblers like this Golden-winged Warbler choose either an overland route or trans Gulf route for getting around the Gulf of Mexico to and from their wintering grounds. This means that most of these sites miss some species (Golden-winged is mighty tough in coastal Texas). A big advantage of northern migrant traps like Point Pelee or Crane Creek is that migration corridors converge here, so we get all the warblers breeding at this latitude or farther north.


For Canadian birders, Point Pelee is THE most reliable site in the country for finding 'southern' breeding warblers like this Hooded Warbler. Others in this category included Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush and Yellow-breasted Chat.





This endangered Kirtland's Warbler graced the northwest beach parking lot for seven days a few years ago. It was seen by thousands of birders during the period. Although this species is only likely to be seen on its breeding grounds in Michigan, they have been seen with increasing regularity at Pelee in the last decade. At Pelee, the best dates for finding this rarity are between May 12 - 17 th.

This is just a small selection of some of the exciting possibilities that make a visit to Point Pelee in May a time to remember. I hope to see you on the trails there!

WOOD DUCKS by the back door

April Fools Day started off with some fun. As I was having my morning coffee I was distracted by movement in the box right beside the deck. It turned out to be a female WOOD DUCK investigating the nest box. Perhaps because this box is so close to the back door (only 25 feet) they have never used it. However they did nest in this same box when it was by the pool deck about five years ago (an equally busy location). I watched her peek in the opening repeatedly while I worked on my crossword puzzle.


I decided to add a third owl/duck box this year in the hopes that either woodies or owls will nest in one. We will see. The screech owl is still in the middle box every morning and has been singing from there during the day at times. Lets hope that means they are hard at work!

While I was looking at the female wood duck I noticed some movement about fifty feet farther away and to the right. It was the male, who was clearly 'guarding' her as she checked out prospective nest sites. Once she flew off, he followed in close pursuit. Neither of these images is great because it was taken through the glass door at a bit of an oblique angle but you can certainly see what they are... and it was a nice way to start the day off.

SNOW & ROSS'S GEESE at PELEE

Finally the weather was good enough this morning to do some video work. I'm continuing to shoot stock for my upcoming HD "Birds of Point Pelee"(to be released later this year or early 2010). While shooting expected migrants like Red-winged Blackbird and American Robin I was surprised to hear a large flock of Snow Geese heading towards me. I had enough time to grab some quick video clips and a few images. The photo below shows most of the birds. From all my images I estimated the flock at a minimum of 256 individuals - an exceptional flock for the Pelee area and certainly the largest "white" goose flock I had ever seen here.



I clicked off a number of still frames with tighter framing and below you can see a crop of one of those images showing that the flock was composed of both Snow and Ross's Geese. In the image below it appears to me that there are three adult white Ross's (two upper left, and one bottom right) and four adult white Snow Geese (middle). However I have had the benefit of examining the images full frame on my monitor!


The last shot is an enlargement of the bottom right two birds above. The difference is pretty clear between the Snow Goose on the left and the much shorter necked, smaller billed Ross's on the right. Pretty cool!


When I got home I saw Dean Ware had bumped into what was certainly the same flock of birds later in the morning at Hillman Marsh. He was able to verify similar counts on both the Snow and Ross's numbers. Its amazing to think of the status change of these species in just a few decades.